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But another madness, Linsanity, is starting to fade, with the New York Knicks tied for 8th in the Eastern Conference and the resignation of coach Mike D’Antoni on Wednesday.

So here’s the question: Who are the real hoops fans and who are the Lin-come-latelies?

Jeremy Lin, the 23-year-old Harvard grad who, as a replacement point guard, scored 20 or more points in five straight games, quickly gained a following among Democrats. On Feb. 15, after another Knicks victory, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer took to Twitter to gush: “Jeremy Lin is living proof of why my basketball career @Harvard was LINished before it started. 7 in a row! #Linsanity.”

That same day, California Rep. Judy Chu tweeted: “Jeremy Lin is living the #American story — success built on hard work and perseverance. Too bad he isn’t playing for #LA! #Linsanity @Jlin7.” One week later, Chu slammed ESPN for its racially charged “Chink in the Armor” headline.

Lin’s stardom was even memorialized in the congressional record. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) cited him in a Feb. 16 speech on the House floor about “Newt Gingrich’s reaction to President [Barack] Obama’s effort to provide contraceptive coverage to all American women.”

“Our current basketball sensation, Jeremy Lin, knows a thing or two about second chances,” Gutierrez said before mocking the former speaker being given a “generous, forgiving second chance” as a “Catholic spokesperson.” (The congressman later posted a clarification on his own Facebook wall: “My speech was not about Jeremy Lin.”)

Lin was mentioned a second time on the House floor, this time by Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) on Feb. 28, who made no bones about why he brought up the star player: “On behalf of over 18 million Asian Pacific Americans, … I commend Jeremy for this tremendous achievement and for his example to the world and what America is all about: You work hard, you be true to your principles of fairness and equity, things will come your way.”

Republicans jumped aboard the bandwagon, too. Sarah Palin was spotted posing for photos with a No. 17 jersey. She called Lin “an American story, … uplifting, positive,” adding, according to TMZ, that the basketball phenom “unifies our country!”

Lin was also a powerful political bludgeon. In New York, both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claimed to have had a hand in negotiations that resolved a 48-day standoff between Time Warner Cable and MSG Network during which Knicks fans couldn’t watch games on MSG.

Right after a deal was reached on Feb. 17, Cuomo’s office released a statement thanking the companies “for being responsive to the needs of New Yorkers” and Schneiderman’s office also came out with one: “Our office has worked diligently … over the last month to bring about a resolution.”

Cuomo told WOR-AM radio, “My instinct is that [Lin] heightened the pressure” to come to a deal “because people really wanted to see the program.”

Schumer seemed to agree. He released a statement after the deal was made that said: “I’m thrilled that … New Yorkers across the state will be able to marvel in ‘Linsanity’ from the comfort of their own home.”

After Lin became known around the world, some politicians tried to make clear that they were early to the party.

Obama justified his Linsanity, telling Bill Simmons of Grantland’s “The B.S. Report” that he has “been on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon for a while.”

When Simmons asked if the president was “taking credit for Linsanity” after Obama recalled that Education Secretary Arne Duncan had first told him about the Harvard basketball star, Obama responded, “I’m just saying I was there early.”

But will their fandom withstand the team’s not-so-stellar performance?

Since the Knicks’s recent six-game losing streak, many of his fans have fallen silent. Neither Schumer nor Chu have tweeted about Lin this month. No other lawmakers have waxed poetic about the Knicks player on the House or Senate floor. And although the president shared his March Madness bracket with the public, attended the Western Kentucky game against Mississippi Valley State with British Prime Minister David Cameron and even conducted a half-time press conference at the game on Wednesday, Obama has been mum on Lin since he set the record straight with Simmons on March 1.

Senate candidate William Tong may have been the last to eke out a fundraising email Feb. 16 — one day before the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Knicks and ended their winning streak. “When somebody finally gave him a chance, [Lin] took the NBA by storm,” the email said. “He’s arrived, but he got here with a decade of hard work and confidence against the odds. He’s the underdog who made it. … Let’s make this a campaign for all the underdogs in the nation.”

Readers' Comments (1)

Melo didn't like Lin getting all the spotlight in NYC. So he had to put a stop to that. He did that by clogging up Lin's driving lanes and playing no defense on the other end. The result was D'Antoni quit and Melo got a coach to make him regain the spotlight again,and then to get rid of Lin. Carmelo Anthony is a dirty and selfish player.